A Queen's Reign
by ShaelynnSophia
Summary: Kit Harper never wanted to be a Prince, and he certainly never wanted to have a Selection. You don't always get what you want in life though. He knows that better than most, and so does his twin sister Liv. Together they will face thirty-five girls, and hopefully come out unharmed. SYOC CLOSED
1. Welcome Home

Here's to trying new things!

Credit to Kiera Cass for everything but the characters.

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I looked at my watch for probably the hundredth time that day as the wind messed up my hair which had been perfectly set only hours earlier. The plane had been on the ground for nearly twenty minutes, but like always, my brother was taking his sweet time.

No one had spoken to me since we reached the airport, they knew how much pressure I had been under the last few weeks. It should have all been on Kit, but he had been off gallivanting across the globe. Chances are he'd never get the opportunity again, so I held little resentment, but I was ready to hand over the reins and let him have control over his Selection.

Really, I'd done the hard parts for him. I mean not only did I make sure the palace was ready for the arrival of thirty-five girls, but I also had the responsibility of selecting each girl through the lottery process. Then, yesterday morning, I greeted each and every one of them individually as they arrived at the palace. I wanted to make the experience as personal as possible for the girls; considering the fact that the Prince wasn't even in the country for their arrival.

Finally the aircraft door opened and I watched as among the guards and my brother, two young women exited the plane. My cousin Jules Hart was the first one. She'd been working for Kit since he was eighteen, just like her mother had worked for my mother.

The second woman I knew to be Sydney Carrington, one of the many who I considered to be an honorary cousin. Sydney had been raised in Illéa with her sister Hannah but had spent the last year in England as a guest of her Aunt, Queen Jane.

Our family did that quite often, hopped from country to country staying with aunts and uncles at our leisure. I spent a whole summer in Sweden when I was sixteen, and two Christmases in France years before that.

I had planned to do more travelling but then my parents had announced Kit's Selection, and I was forced to stay at home while he took in his last few breaths of freedom.

Watching Kit's smiling face as he came towards me, I realized that we hadn't celebrated our birthday. Being twins Kit and I had always shared a huge birthday celebration, but with him not home this year no one had bothered to plan it.

"Liv," Kit called out as he closed the three month gap between us. "I hate to admit it, but I missed you." He whispered into my ear as his arms closed tightly around me.

I smiled, "I missed you too. Well," I paused, "mostly. I didn't miss your smugness."

He released me mid laugh. "You wouldn't survive without my smugness. Now," he took my hand and together we walked towards the waiting cars. "Jules tried to keep my up to date, but even she was getting second-hand news. Tell me, what have I gotten myself into with this Selection?"

I took a brief moment to think over my words as we climbed into the backseat of one of the palace cars. "I only know what's on paper, and it is undeniably hard to judge thirty-five girls based on what a form tells me about their lives."

"Have you met them all?" A nervous stutter broke through Kit's usually stoic voice.

I nodded. "I greeted them all yesterday as they arrived. This morning I shared words with a few of the early risers, they're all incredibly excited to meet you."

He bit his lip, "do you have a favourite?"

I smirked as the car finally pulled off the tarmac. "Of course I do Kit, and so does the rest of the family, but no one's saying a word to you until you've met the girls for yourself."

"You're a terrible sister, you know that right?"

I rolled my eyes, "should I remind you who had to take control of the Selection while you were on vacation?"

He grinned, and I leaned my head against his shoulder. "I'm really glad you're back Kit, nothing was quite as enjoyable without you."

The drive home felt much shorter than the drive to the airport had been. It was just before lunch when we pulled up the drive to see Mom and Dad waiting. They had been avoiding the girls in order to have a proper introduction in the coming days. I thought it was kind of adorable that they wanted their son to personally introduce them to the girl he would marry; especially considering at this point no one knew which girl would become his bride.

Getting out of the car I moved to the side to allow my parents room to greet their son. As the second car pulled up I walked over to speak with my cousins.

"Welcome home ladies," I said smiling as I wrapped them both up in a hug.

"You look great Liv," Sydney said, noticeably exhausted from the long flight. "Twenty seems to be suiting you quite well."

"You know I figured everyone had forgotten that Kit and I were both twenty, what with only him having a Selection."

Sydney shrugged, "you're lucky. No Selection means you can marry anyone, or, you can marry no one."

Jules nodded in agreement. "Kit's not ready to be married yet, but he has no choice. We're all still so young and there is so much we have yet to experience, you'll see more of it than Kit ever will."

"He deserves a choice," I mumbled.

Jules smiled sadly. "I better go get to work, I have three months of paperwork waiting for me. Not to mention all the Selection details I've missed."

Once she was gone I turned to Sydney. "Well Hannah's still in school for a few more hours, and your dad is spending the week with your mom, so it appears you have no current engagements. Care to join me for lunch?"

"I'd love to," she said grinning. "You have no idea how much I've missed our chefs' cooking."

I laughed, "I'll meet you in your room in a bit. I think I'm going to join in on the family reunion," I said gesturing over to where Kit and my parents were.

"Liv," my mom said sweetly as she saw me approaching.

I smiled back at her. "Sorry I didn't come see you two this morning, they told me the flight was early and I didn't want to wake you."

"A wise decision," my dad said wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "You know what your mother is like without a full night's rest."

"It seems like nothing has changed since I left." Kit winked at me, "Liv is still sneaking out at all hours and no one is brave enough to come to mom before nine in the morning."

"Well," my dad said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, "I can think of thirty-five changes."

"Callum!" My mom said whacking my dad on the arm. "He just got back, there will be plenty of time to discuss those matters later."

Kit's face had fallen and I slowly found myself backing away from my family. Everything was going to change, it had never been more apparent to me than in that moment. Even when the topic of Kit's Selection had first been broached, I embellished it. Now though, now that Kit was back, I knew for me, the Selection was going to be anything other than glamorous.

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A/N

Hey guys! It felt so strange not updating a story in months so I finally just had to force myself to pick an idea and start writing. I was going to do up a SYOC form but instead I decided to just tell you guys to go for it. They're your character(s), you know them better than anyone else, so just tell me about them. I am requesting two things though, that you pick a faceclaim and give me some details about their family. Anything else I need to know I'll just PM you and we can discuss it. I know this chapter doesn't really tell you too much about Prince Kit so if you need more details about him before creating your character, feel free to message me. I am of course looking for thirty-five selected, but if you have ideas for other characters I'm open to those submissions as well. Lastly this story will have boards on my Pinterest (shaelynnsophia) so feel free to check them out (I do have personal boards on my Pinterest too, so feel free to unfollow them, but I'm not super active which is why I thought it would be a waste to make a new Pinterest just for this story's boards).

Shaelynn


	2. Queen Jane

I was already halfway out the door when the bell rang. Usually I'd hang around and talk to my friends, but lately all they did was gossip about the Selection. They saw me only as a means to get inside knowledge on the selected.

That was my curse, the curse of being Hannah Carrington. I don't recommend going to public high school if you're the daughter of an English Prince, and especially not if your house is the Illéan palace. It was my last day though, now I only had to get through exams and then I'd officially be done grade twelve.

Walking out the school doors into the warm Angeles air, I couldn't help but grin. It was going to be a great summer, I could feel it already. Then, when the August days faded away, I would fly across the country to Allens and begin university. I'd finally get to step out from the shadow my relatives cast on me.

I made it to the parking lot and was just about to unlock my car when I felt an arm wrap around me tightly.

"Carrington, you weren't planning on leaving without saying goodbye, were you?"

I looked up at the tall boy who was notorious for his messy hair. "We said our goodbyes in Calculus, Mason. I beat you one last time on that exam so you'd have something good to remember me by."

He rolled his eyes and then winked at me as he backed away. "It's a good thing I'll see you at the physics final, this would be a terrible way to leave things Princess."

I was about to yell back at him not to call me that, but I knew I wouldn't win the argument. I'd been fighting with Mason Dougray for four years, and somehow I had lost every battle.

Instead, I simply unlocked my car and got in. The first thing I did when the air conditioning hit my skin was turn the radio on incredibly loud. As I pulled out onto the road I took a quick glance at the school. I saw a group of my friends walking out together, talking and laughing. They fit so well together, I'd always been on the outside. Until they needed me of course, then they'd drag me around and pretend that everything was normal. I wasn't going to miss that one bit.

I also wouldn't miss the drive, I hated how long it was. It used to be okay. When I was in middle school and Sage was still in high school, she'd drive Sydney and me. Sage wasn't related to us but she always treated us like family. We'd sometimes go get ice cream after school or leave home early to go watch the sunrise on the beach. I'd give anything to be back there.

What may have been an eternity later I arrived at the palace. I always used the back entrance to avoid making a scene. Especially considering I never knew when a foreign dignitary might be arriving at the front. Pulling into my designated spot I sat still for a moment but then I heard joyous screaming.

I opened the door and swung my legs out, reaching over to the passenger seat to pull my bag with me. The second I stood up I was engulfed in a hug.

"Hanny, God I missed you." I took in a deep breath as my sister squeezed tighter. Her hair smelled like pear as it always had. I wanted to believe she hadn't changed a bit.

"I didn't think your flight got in until tonight," I said as she loosened her grip.

"It was supposed to, but Kit wanted to come back early. He's having a big ball tonight to welcome the selected to the palace. It's pretty last minute, but are you up for it?"

I laughed. "Of course I am, especially if you'll let me raid your closet." I swung the door of my car shut and hit the lock button. "My first exam isn't until Wednesday, and even if it wasn't, I think I deserve a night off studying."

Sydney looped her arm through mine as we walked into the palace. "The younger family members are all in the east parlour, Kit won't stop grilling everyone about the girls."

"He's waiting to meet them all at the ball I presume?"

Sydney nodded. "The idea was he'd spend the afternoon sleeping off the jetlag, but he's too on edge. Have you met any of them?" She asked as we rounded a corner.

"A few," I replied. "I only really talked to Charise though. The rest seemed to be making an effort to avoid me."

Sydney tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear. "How is she? I don't think I've spoken with her since we were seventeen."

I shrugged. "Good, I suppose. I mean lovely as always, but I think some of the other girls are giving her a hard time. They think she's got an unfair advantage because her dad is Conte Borghese."

My sister let out a laugh. "She really doesn't. I haven't pressed the matter, but Kit hasn't mentioned her at all. You'd think if he remembered her he would have brought it up."

I didn't doubt my sister. Kit was quite possibly the most oblivious person I had ever met. He meant well though, and that would hopefully serve him well in the Selection.

As we arrived at the parlour the doors were opened by two guards whose names I felt bad for forgetting.

"Agnes?" I called out in surprise when my eyes locked with my cousin's.

Agnes was a Princess of Sweden, one of Swendway's provinces. Really it was only a title, one her grandfather had given to her mother years before. She held no actual power over the country, all control belonged to King Viktor.

"Hey Han," she said getting up to hug me. "I think you've grown two feet since I last saw you."

Sydney rolled her eyes as she fell into a chair next to Liv. "Well Aggie, that would be because the last time you saw Hannah she was ten."

Agnes took my hand and dragged me over to the sofa she had been sitting on when I had arrived. "Can you blame me? I've had three more kids in that time."

"How are the little monsters?" Kit asked. He'd spent a couple of weeks in Sweden during his recent travels.

"Anton and Ivar scared off another tutor, I think that's the third one this year. Then last week Elvira managed to get her hands on hair dye, so Tage is now a ginger."

Kit burst out laughing, causing my cousin Ella to smack him. "I see my brothers managed to teach you no manners while you were in England. What a big surprise," she said sarcastically.

Kit shook his head. "Elle it's a miracle they haven't made Chris abdicate in favor of you. The day he takes the thrown is going to be a scary day indeed."

Ella shrugged, "Mom will just have to live forever, because there is no way anyone is getting me to sit on that throne."

Liv raised her glass in the air. "Long live Queen Jane."

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A/N

Sorry for another chapter with a lack of Kit! The next chapter will be the "ball" so we'll definitely get to know him better. However, I can't write the next chapter until I get more submissions. I forgot to mention in my last author's note that the castes have been destroyed, another important note, the provinces Lakedon, Angeles, Columbia, Dominica, and Waverly have already been taken, but you are welcome to choose any other province.

Since I like to make things confusing, Swendway is made up of three provinces, which are actually just the three countries that Kiera created Swendway out of. Agnes' grandfather had four kids, the first was the heir to Swendway (Viktor), and the other three children he put in charge of each of the three provinces. Agnes' mom, Kristina, was "given" Sweden, so as her eldest child, Agnes is then the heir to Sweden. Bonus fact, Agnes' dad is an English Prince, meaning one of his brothers is Sydney and Hannah's dad.

If you didn't get confused by that you have impressed me!

Shaelynn


	3. Confined

My hand began to shake as I straightened my bowtie. I didn't usually get nervous at meeting new people. This was different though. I was about to walk into a room that contained my future wife.

"Kit!" I turned around to see who had called me, and I couldn't resist grinning.

"If it isn't Ren Hart," I said ambling over to where my cousin stood. "Last I heard you were still up in Whites, what brings you back to our humble home?"

"Oh you know me Kit. I was only there because I met a girl. Then she broke up with me," he shuddered as if the memory was too painful, "can you believe her nerve?" I let out a chuckle. "I was going to go stay in Waverly with Sage but when I got there her roommate told me she had moved back to Angeles."

"What?" I figured if Sage was back in the province someone would have told me. "If she's back then why isn't she here?"

I winced as I was hit on the back of my head. "Just because I haven't come to see you doesn't mean that I haven't been here." I turned around to see Sage looking exactly like how I remembered.

I wrapped my arms around her. "A year is too long to go without seeing my favourite cousin."

"Hey!" Ren called out from behind us. "I get no appreciation in this family. I mean I'm going to have to restrain from flirting with thirty-five girls. Do you realize how difficult that's going to be?"

Sage rolled her eyes at her brother. "I think you'll survive Ren."

The door burst open and Liv came charging in before Ren could complain anymore. "It looks pretty bad if you don't show up to your own ball."

"We're coming Mother."

Liv glared at me for being sarcastic and then took hold of my arm. "Mom and Dad are already in there meeting the girls. We better hurry before they start discussing your 'hipster phase.'"

Most days I would fight back, but in that moment I just didn't have it in me. "I want your opinion Liv." I stopped once we were just outside the ballroom doors and looked into her blue eyes. "I trust you more than anyone else, so I want your opinion on the girls."

"Okay," she said nodding. "Once I have one, I'll come to you and we can talk."

Before I knew it the guards had opened the doors and Liv was pulling me into a completely quiet ballroom. Part of me wished they hadn't announced our entrance, everyone was put on edge knowing I was there. It felt so unnatural.

"Where are you going to start?" Liv whispered into my ear when the room had gained a bit of noise in the form of conversation.

I scanned the room a few times before replying. "The one over there in the green dress. She's the only one not staring at me."

"Good choice, her name's Grace." Without another word Liv pushed me in Grace's direction and I found my legs slowly obeying.

I was still a few steps away when our eyes met and she smiled at me. Then when she realized I was actually coming to speak with her she got a little flustered. Still, she perfectly executed a curtsy leaving me quite impressed.

"Your Highness," she spoke strongly and steadily, "I'm Gracie."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Gracie, but please, just call me Kit." With every word I felt like I was going to pass out. Sure I had spoken with plenty of girls before, but I knew that there was no chance they would become my wife. My future had been tied to this Selection my whole life.

"Your sister's dress is beautiful," Grace said glancing across the room to where Liv was watching us from.

"Do you have a sister?"

She nodded immediately. "Lydia, she's twenty-three."

Before Grace could continue we were interrupted by another girl. "Your Highness," the girl, who was much taller than Grace, spoke with a thick accent. "I am honoured to meet you. My name is Régine."

I looked over to Grace who was clearly intimidated by Régine. She looked back at me, "it was very nice to meet you." Then she curtsied once more and was gone.

"I hear you just got back from England." I nodded, not really in the mood for small talk. "It's a beautiful country," she went on, "I've been a few times."

I glanced around the room at all the other women who were trying not to stare. "I should go meet some of the other girls." I placed my hand on her shoulder as I made to walk past. "It was lovely speaking with you."

I headed straight to Liv who was talking with a redheaded girl.

Liv's face lit up when she saw me. "Kit! This is Molly, she has a cat," the pure excitement that Liv was displaying made me laugh. My sister had a huge obsession with cats.

"Hello Molly, I hope Liv isn't scaring you off. She doesn't get out much," I winked, trying to act charming but probably failing completely.

"The Princess has been a delight, so has the rest of your family. They all clearly love you very much."

I smiled at the sweetness in her voice. I was quite enchanted by Molly's red hair, falling in curls around her face, her white dress enhancing the colour dramatically. "I'm glad they're actually behaving themselves, my cousins love to cause problems."

"Hey, we're not that bad," Sage said coming towards us. "I'm Sage Hart," she extended her hand to Molly in a most unroyal like fashion.

"It's a pleasure, I'm Molly Keegan."

"So, Molly Keegan, have you gotten to know any of the other girls yet?"

Molly froze up immediately at Sage's comment. She looked at me for conformation that she could speak freely and I smiled back. "I sat with Dailey Winslow on the plane, she was incredibly kind. Then this morning I had a lovely conversation with Sol Castilla, she's the one talking to the Queen." Molly pointed Sol out across the room, and although I couldn't see her face, I could tell that she was quite beautiful.

Sage shook her head. "That's all great but I was hoping for some dirt. I guess I'll have to keep looking."

Once she was gone Liv turned to Molly. "Care to join me for a drink? Poor Kit is going to be here all night if he spends this long speaking with every girl."

Molly nodded and Liv dragged her off before she could say anything else. I was not for the first time in my life, alone in a room packed with people. Suddenly I needed to be outside.

Trying not to make a spectacle I snuck out a back door and made my way to the garden. The June air was surprisingly chilly when it hit my face. I almost regretted coming out, but then I saw her.

It was a couple of moments before she spotted me. Her curtsy wasn't as perfect as Grace's but I smiled at her attempt.

"Your Highness," her voice was merely a whisper in the night. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

I laughed, "it's me that should be sorry. You were here first, Lady," I thought quickly back to the forms I'd read through, "Malia."

"I was a bit worried coming here," she began, once I was standing next to her. "I mean I figured all my time would be spent inside confining rooms. It's pretty amazing out here though."

"I wish it was more. There's so much that I miss out on sitting inside these walls." I looked up into the darkness, and for a moment I wanted nothing more than for it to engulf me.

Then she spoke again. "Maybe in a way it is. You're trapped by walls, but really they stretch all the way to Illéa's boarders. The whole country belongs to you, in the purest sense."

"Thank you," I said smiling at her. "I don't think you know how badly I needed to hear that."

She shrugged, her dress glimmering in the moonlight. "There was a time when I needed to hear something similar, but no one was there to tell me." She paused, glancing towards the door. "Shall we head back inside?"

I offered her my arm, and together we went back into confinement.

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A/N

Hey! Hope you all enjoyed chapter three, it was a bit rushed because I wanted to update before the weekend ended. I know they were brief glimpses but what did you all think of the girls? I still need a bunch of entries so please keep submitting! For anyone interested in seeing the dresses the girls were wearing you can find them on my Pinterest (shaelynnsophia). Sadly I did not get to go into as much detail with the fashion as I wanted to but I realized it would be untrue to Kit's character if he was analyzing every dress. Speaking of Kit, this was your first real look at his more vulnerable side. We kind of saw the same feelings arise in Liv in chapter one (she wanted to leave but couldn't because of Kit, he wants to leave for good but can't because of the crown), if only they'd realize that they feel the same. Also, I wanted to talk briefly about Sage. Although she's not competing for Kit's heart, she does hold a piece of it in familial way. Their relationship is one of my favourites, which is saying something because a main focus of this story is on sibling relationships so I feel like I'm betraying that concept considering they're cousins. Anyway, I'd better stop myself before I go off on a tirade. Thank you all so much for reading!

Shaelynn


	4. Deathtrap

Having nothing better to do I spent a whole afternoon in the Women's Room staring at each of the selected in turn. Some came and went, Kit had even taken one on a date. I had wanted to go spy on him but I stopped because whether I acted like it or not, I respected my brother.

I was just about to go back to my room to get ready for dinner when one of the girls came running in. She whispered into another girl's ear, and soon the whole room was abuzz.

"What is it?" I finally snapped at a girl I knew to be named Amelia.

"Prince Kit has made his first elimination." Amelia looked neither happy nor saddened at the news. It made sense though, none of the girls had really had time to bond yet, and the only ones who would be happy were the cutthroats.

Not bothering to try and get more information out of them, I walked out the door. I really should have gone back to my room to get ready for dinner, but instead I found my legs taking me to the parlour in the east wing of the castle.

Coming around a corner I ran straight into Ella.

"Liv! There you are, ready to do some burning?" She waved a folder in the air and grabbed my arm with her other hand. "You heard already I presume?"

"Not the details, just that one was eliminated."

Ella opened the folder and showed it to me. "Colby Lonan from Paloma. Kit was talking to her, and he says he just knew. Some feeling in his gut told him that she wasn't the one."

"That's good I guess. It would be pointless to keep her around if nothing was ever going to happen." I pulled open the door to the parlour and followed Ella inside.

Most of my extended family was already gathered. Jules was always absent to these impromptu get-togethers, she was too busy with her work. Today though, she made an appearance.

We'd worked out the details already, every time Kit eliminated a girl we would burn her file. It sounded a bit odd but it was our way of eliminating each girl.

I took the folder from Ella and handed it to Jules. "Why don't you do the honours," she looked a little shocked but I just shrugged. "We'll be burning thirty-four of these, you're the oldest; you should start us off."

Deciding not to question me Jules accepted the folder and walked up to the crackling colours that inhabited the fireplace. "To Colby Lonan, age twenty," she looked at each of us in turn, "the first of many." Placing the folder delicately on top of the burning wood, Jules smiled at Ren. "She's fair game now little brother."

"I'm not that bad," Ren cried out.

Ren was right, he really wasn't the playboy that we all made him out to be. He just had bad luck with love, and everyone teased him about it. We couldn't help it, the rest of us, with the exception of Jules, had been single our whole lives.

"Liv," I snapped out of my train of thought when I heard Sydney saying my name. Once she saw she had my attention she continued, "we're all heading out." She gestured to Hannah, Ren, and Sage. "Tell Kit I wish him luck tonight." She gave me a quick hug and then left the room with the others.

Jules had gone back to work leaving only Ella with me, as Agnes wandered out of the room.

"So," Ella sat cross-legged on one of the couches. "Now that this Selection is officially started, am I wrong to assume that there will be a lot more of the family hanging around?"

I shrugged, sitting down across from her. "Alexa was planning on coming at the end of August anyway." I paused, thinking back to the last time Alexa Simmons was in Angeles. "You were here two summers ago, weren't you Elle? That would've been the last time she was here, I swear you must have met her."

"Oh, the one with the gorgeous hair, and two sisters?" I nodded. "Yeah I remember her," Ella continued, "how are you two related again?"

I rolled my eyes at Ella, she knew how complicated my family tree was. "Alexa's dad is cousins with the Schreaves." I paused, trying to make sure I'd gotten the connection right. "Speaking of them," I went on, "they'll no doubt turn up this summer."

My mother was half Schreave, but the name had very nearly died out. Most of the Schreaves were girls, or had daughters, leaving only a few distant relatives of mine with the name. They liked to show up every once in a while and remind everyone that they were still relevant; remind us that they still carried the name that had carried the monarchy for generations.

"Didn't Hadley get married recently?" Ella asked, flipping through a magazine that housed articles on all of the selected.

I nodded, "she still goes by Schreave though."

Ella looked up from her article of choice, Danielle Pratt, the title read. "Why is that? I always had her pegged for the traditional type."

"She doesn't want to be the next Rorie."

"Who?" Ella asked, her nose scrunching up in confusion.

"Exactly," I replied laughing at the irony. "Rorie Schreave, she was mom's cousin," I elaborated. "She changed her name when she got married and suddenly no one cared who she was. It was perfect for Rorie, she got to raise her sons in peace, but I can't imagine Hadley ever volunteering to leave the spotlight."

Ella smiled, tossing the magazine onto the coffee table. "I'd like that. I mean I'd never give up the extended family, but it would be so nice to just fade into the background."

"Who knows," I said getting up and following Ella out into the hallway. "You and I might still have a chance. Once our brothers have kids we'll no longer be the spares."

"I swear Chris has never even talked to a girl, I doubt he'll be having kids anytime soon."

I shrugged, "I would have said the same thing about Kit last year."

We rounded a corner and Ella let out an exasperated sigh. "How do I get that to happen though? I've waited nineteen years, and yet I haven't seen anything."

"The world waits until you're not looking, and then it throws a curveball." I stopped, and after a couple of steps Ella turned around. I searched her eyes and found only strain, so I pleaded with her. "Stop looking."

I heard the clicking of heals and turned to my left to see a brunette girl in a sapphire dress coming down the hallway. I'd seen her in the Women's Room earlier but I couldn't quite place her name.

She didn't seem to notice us until the last second. "Your Highness'," she hurriedly curtsied. "I'm so sorry I interrupted you."

"I didn't catch your name," Ella said, saving me the trouble of asking.

"Ruby Reynolds," the girl replied sheepishly.

Ella, not always the friendliest made an effort to smile. She knew as well as I that some of the selected would no doubt spook at the slightest bit of hostility on our part.

"I was just wandering aimlessly," Ruby went on, trying to explain the circumstances that had brought her to the hallway. "All the other girls are still getting ready for dinner, so I found myself alone."

"Why don't you walk with us," I offered. "Ella and I were just headed up to change ourselves, but there's no reason we can't have a good conversation on our way."

Ruby nodded, and Ella placed a hand on the girl's back, as if to usher her forward. "So Ruby, how are you finding the palace thus far?"

Ella sounded like she legitimately cared, but I knew better, so when Ruby wasn't looking I glared at her.

"I'm quite enjoying it," Ruby finally said moments later. "It's a big change from what I'm used to, but it's a good one."

"Where are you from?" I found myself asking before Ella had the chance to speak. For some reason my cousin had decided that she didn't like Ruby, and I couldn't for the life of me figure out why.

"Allens," the girl smiled, I assumed due to the thought of her home. "I thought I'd never get out."

I stared at her, in minor shock. "What do you mean?"

"Allens is a," she paused, thinking through her choice of words, "deathtrap. Every terrible thing that's ever happened to me happened there."

"What about all the good?" I found myself asking.

"What about it?" She sighed, "I needed to get out so I could stop fixating on the bad, because there are good things. All I saw were the flaws, but life is so much better when you can see the full picture."

Ella stopped as we reached the door to her room. "What if you hadn't gotten selected? What would you have done then?"

Ruby smiled sadly, "stayed."

Nodding Ella turned the knob on her door. "Well it's been very nice meeting you Ruby, but I'm afraid I must go get ready." Not waiting for a reply from either of us, Ella slammed the door.

"She can be a bit of a handful," I said turning to Ruby. "I try not to take her for granted though because at the end of the summer she's due back to England. It'll be so strange not having her around." I continued down the hallway to my room with Ruby following a few steps behind me.

"I get the feeling that she doesn't like me."

I laughed, "I often get the feeling that Ella doesn't like anyone. Don't take it personally, I know her well enough to know that she was at least trying there. Now," I said once in front of my familiar door. "I've got to get ready in record time, think you can find your way down to the dining room without getting lost?"

Ruby nodded and curtsied. "Thank you so much for the chat Princess Liv."

"It was my pleasure," I called out as she walked away.

* * *

A/N

Happy last day of March! Sorry this chapter took so long, I had intended to write more but decided that it might be nice to change perspectives for the dinner. Another delay was the fact that I am still waiting on more selected, so please submit, it would mean the world to me! Colby Lonan was a throwaway character, and I'm happy to make a few more so no reader submissions get eliminated right away, but believe me when I say there is still plenty of room for submissions. Also, if anyone is interested in collaborating/creating a character that is not one of the selected, please message me. I have some ideas for characters I might need but not a lot of time to figure out all of their details. Anyway, this has been a long enough speech from me so the last thing I'll say is check out the boards on my Pinterest shaelynnsophia, that way you can put faces to the names of the selected and the royals.

Friendly reminder that tomorrow is April Fools' Day

Shaelynn


	5. This Labyrinth

It had been a long day. I went on my first date, and spoke with nearly all the girls. I even eliminated one. It wasn't a hard choice, but I still felt terrible for sending her home. If there was one thing I learned that morning it was that there was so much that I didn't know about the girls.

I spent the evening sat in the dining room with Ella to my left, Liv across from me, and a girl I didn't know to my right. A girl I didn't know but might end up marrying.

I kept to myself for most of the meal, but as we were served dessert the girl spoke up. "I take it that you don't remember me Your Highness."

I turned to her, confused. "Whatever do you mean?"

She smiled, her eyes twinkling in the light. "I'm Charise Borghese, my dad is Conte Borghese. You and I, believe it or not, have met many times before." I tried hard to remember her but when I said nothing she just laughed. "The last time I was here was two years ago, and I was talking with Sydney Carrington when you came over. Syd told you how I wanted to travel and you gave me the biggest grin and said 'if you have the chance, take it. I'd give anything to be outside of these walls.'"

Thinking back I finally remembered her. I grinned, "I thought you were just one of Sydney's friends from school. There were so many people here that night, I should've paid better attention."

She shrugged, "it's more my fault than yours. I clearly didn't make a very good impression."

I laughed, causing most of the selected to turn their attention to me. I tried very hard to ignore them, choosing instead to focus on Charise. "I remember your dad, and I knew he had kids, I just never put much thought into where they were."

Charise shrugged nonchalantly, "you had more important things to worry about. Besides, Drago and I tended to fade into the background when stood next to all the elaborate guests."

"How is your brother?" I asked, deciding to try my hand at small talk.

A soft grin spread across her face, "he's doing great. I haven't seen him in a few weeks though." Her expression wavered, "our lives are going in such different directions, sometimes I wish I could hold back time."

I nodded, looking across the table at Liv. I knew exactly how Charise felt. Trying to lighten the mood I decided to change the topic. "Seeing that we're old friends," I began jokingly. "Do you have any insight for me on the tensions in the Women's Room? No one has bothered to tell me if everyone is getting along."

She shrugged. "They're all trying their best, but it's hard when everyone is so different. I'm pretty sure they've all found at least one friend though so don't worry about any of them being lonely."

"Who are you friends with?" I felt childish asking but I already trusted Charise's taste, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to know who she'd bonded with.

"Massie is incredibly nice," Charise nodded towards the other end of the table where a brunette girl sat talk animatedly with the girls around her. "I haven't talked much with Julia," she continued, "but she had a video camera out so she's piqued my interest."

"Have you gotten to know Malia?" I asked remembering my chat with the other girl.

"We spent the afternoon in the gardens together," Charise said smiling. "I found her out there when I was wandering aimlessly and we hit it off immediately."

I could just see Malia out of the corner of my eye sitting next to Grace. Malia looked mildly subdued but Grace was practically bouncing off the walls in excitement. When Malia looked up from her dessert I quickly turned my attention back to Charise.

"I guess the better question would have been who do you not particularly get along with? Although by the sounds of it you get along with everyone."

"I don't think I've been here long enough to figure that out. I mean some of the girls come off a little cold, but I'm sure they're just nervous."

Before I could say anything in response the girl next to Charise whispered something in her ear and they both began to grin. Not sure what it was about I chose to engage the other girl.

"I don't believe we've had the pleasure yet, Lady," I paused when I realized I had literally no clue who she was.

"Claire," she said, her blonde curls swaying as she moved. "Claire Darrion, and the pleasure is all mine Your Highness." For a moment she glanced away but then she swung her gaze back to me. "Can I ask you something?"

I nodded, and Charise bit her lip sitting awkwardly between us.

"Is it true that there's a movie theatre somewhere in this labyrinth?"

I couldn't help but laugh, those were quite possibly the last words I expected to come out of her mouth. "It's true Lady Claire; quite a few members of my family are film junkies so it has become a well-used room."

Claire let out a breath and then smiled. "I've never been to a movie theatre before." She looked a little self-conscious admitting that she was lacking the experience, but she soldiered on and told me the rest of the story. "Dailey," she gestured to the girl on her other side, "told me that Gwen told her that Molly swore she saw a theatre on her walk this morning, but I didn't want to get too ecstatic until I knew it was true."

"Why don't you and the girls go check it out tonight? I'd love to join you but I unfortunately have a pile of paperwork waiting for me."

Claire looked like she was going to explode with happiness. "That would be magnificent Your Highness, I'll spread the word."

As Claire started whispering with Dailey, I turned back to my plate. I'd lied about the paperwork, Ella and Liv glared at me and I could feel my cheeks turning red as I knew that meant they had been listening into my conversation.

It's not that Claire hadn't seemed nice, but I didn't think I was ready to be alone with thirty-four girls. I needed to narrow down the number, hopefully to bellow thirty in the coming week.

As dessert finally ended, the table began to empty. Charise turned to me one last time before she left. "I hope to see more of you in the coming days Prince Kit."

"I'm afraid you probably will not." Her smile faltered at my words and I smacked myself when I realized what she must have thought. "I don't mean you're going home Lady Charise. What I mean," I tried again, "is that you're going to be staying for the immediate future. Since I know that for sure, I need to spend my time with the other girls."

She nodded, her momentary frown having vanished from her face. "Then I hope to see you somewhere down the line."

As she left the room I found myself grinning from ear to ear. Ella rolled her eyes at me and after a moment she grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the dining room. Liv, Agnes, and Jules followed closely behind.

I was glad the four of them had been there at dinner, it would have been unbearable if it had just been my parents and my thirty-four "girlfriends."

Although Jules was technically my employee, she was also family and my mom had always made it clear that she had a spot at our table. Agnes and Ella on the other hand gained their spots due to their royal status instead of through familial obligation. Although the fact that our family trees could be traced together made them all the more welcome.

We arrived at the east parlour in record time, that is Ella and I did. The other three took what felt like an eternity to join us.

"That was interesting," Liv said as she took the chair closest to the fire. "I mean I was kind of expecting a bit more…"

"Conversation?" Jules offered, as she and Agnes took residence on a loveseat.

Liv shrugged, "yeah kind of. I mean ideally I wanted some drama but to achieve that they would've needed to speak."

"They'll get there eventually," Ella said, sounding confident.

"What if they don't?" I regretted my words the moment they left my mouth, simply because I didn't want to sound vulnerable in front of my family.

Instead of answering that question, Agnes chose to answer another. "You'll know Kit. Maybe not instantly, but in the coming months I swear to you that you will. She's out there waiting, you just have to make the effort to find her."

* * *

A/N

I am so sorry I haven't updated since March. I fully intended to but somehow I got stuck a few hundred words into this chapter. I reread the other chapters and I realized that there were two things that kind of need clarification. First of all, Hannah Carrington's living situation. In chapter two she said she lived in the palace but in the last chapter she left the palace to presumably go home with Sydney, Sage, and Ren. Both of these are technically true. Hannah has a room in the palace where she is welcome to stay (and where she had been staying the last few days since her dad and sister were both out of province), although her dad owns a house in the city which is where they live when he's not travelling. To complicate matters more though, Sydney has her own apartment which is where the girls were headed at the end of the last chapter. In closing, Hannah is an amazing cinnamon roll that lives wherever she wants. Now for the second clarification, Agnes' age. In the last chapter Liv gave Jules the folder to burn because Jules is the oldest. Let me point out though that Jules is 25 and Agnes is 31. Although Agnes is older, she grew up in Sweden/Swendway and thus isn't a huge part of the group. In saying that Jules is the oldest, Liv was not including Agnes, which is kind of rude now that I think of it because Agnes was standing right there.

Sorry for the essay, especially considering it has nothing to do with this chapter. That being said, I feel like I'm probably forgetting some super important details about this chapter, so if you find anything that doesn't add up, just send me a message and I'll try my best to explain.

Thank you to all the superstars who have reviewed, you guys are amazing!

Shaelynn


	6. Breakfast at Jules'

When I woke up the next day I knew exactly what I needed. Pulling on a t-shirt and shorts I marvelled at how good it felt to wear something that wasn't a suit. As I made my way to Liv's room I had a genuine smile on my face for the first time in a long time.

"Livlee," I called as I knocked on my sister's door. She wasn't a huge fan of the nickname which is why I often used it.

When she opened up the door she was wearing a smirk. "What can I help you with on this fine day Kitridge?"

I rolled my eyes and then grinned. "Breakfast at Jules'?"

Her facial expression changed to match mine, but with added excitement. "Do you think Mom will let us go, now that the Selection has started?"

"Who said anything about asking Mom?"

"Fine," she said clearly not wanting to push it, "but I have to change if we're going out." She took a glance down the hallway, "you should come wait in here in case Mom or Dad is up."

Liv turned and headed to her closet to find something less formal, and I headed to her balcony. Somehow she'd ended up with the best view in the palace, and for long as I could remember, I'd envied her for it.

Opening the French doors I smiled as the warm air met my body. I loved Angeles in the summer. The air smelled sweeter and all things attained a brighter hue. Everything that the winter had killed found a way to breathe again.

My absolute favourite thing about summer in Angeles was breakfast at Jules'. It was a tradition we started five years ago when Sage called one morning to say that Jules hadn't made it home the night before. It didn't take us long to find her sound asleep in her office.

That day was one of the many days that I offered Jules a room in the palace and she declined. She loved her home too much to part with it. More on point though, that was one of the many days I offered her the day off. For once I got her to accept, but only on the condition that Liv and I went home with her so we'd be out of our parents' hair.

When we arrived at her house it was to find Ren and Sage cooking a huge breakfast. The five of us cousins sat down around Jules' kitchen table, and so started the tradition of breakfast at Jules'.

It would've gone on yearlong but Ren left that fall, and the years he was back Sage was at university.

We'd come a long way, the five of us. Especially considering what had happened only months before our tradition started

"Are you ready?"

I snapped myself out of the trance I'd fallen into. "Yeah let's go before Mom finds out and kills us both."

Tiptoeing past our parents' room we made it to the garage without drawing too much attention to ourselves. Climbing into my car I turned to my sister. "Are you ever going to learn how to drive?"

She shrugged as I began to back out, "what good is a princess who can drive?"

"What good is one who can't?" She smacked my arm, "no hitting the driver unless you want to die."

Our conversation ceased as we put on our politest smiles for the guard at the gate. As usual he let us out without question, he knew the 7:30 drill.

"What are we going to do when Jules gets married?" Liv asked after we'd cleared the gate. "I mean he's kind of going to ruin our cousinly bounding."

"You realize I'm going to be married soon too, right?"

Liv bit her lip as she considered it. "You can leave your wife at the palace though, we won't exactly be able to leave Jules' husband anywhere."

"Maybe you and Sage should just find husbands. Then it wouldn't be so weird."

Liv squirmed in her seat at the prospect of settling down. "What about Ren, doesn't he deserve someone?"

I laughed at that, "something tells me we'll never get to see Ren Hart get married."

"I hope we do," Liv said as I parked in front of Jules' house. "It would do him some good to find someone. He's been through so much. Is a happy ending too much to ask for?"

"I wish it wasn't."

Liv didn't hear my answer as she'd already gotten out of the car and was on her way to Jules' door; clearly she didn't want to have an argument. By the time I caught up to her Jules had opened the door.

I smiled at my oldest cousin as she welcomed us inside. Jules looked surprisingly carefree, which wasn't a word that was used often to describe her.

We found Sage in the kitchen, her hair in its signature ponytail and a grin on her face. She was attentively watching pancakes cook on the griddle and when she saw us she took a step back.

"Jules still doesn't trust me to flip anything." Sage rolled her eyes, "I keep telling her I've learned since the blueberry incident, but she doesn't believe me."

"Why don't you all go check on Ren, and _I'll_ flip the pancakes." Jules liked things done a certain way, and we all respected that.

Liv and I followed Sage into the living room where we found Ren stretched out across one of the sofas watching TV.

"If it isn't the womanizer," I'd learned over the years not to take Ren's words to heart.

"What are you watching Renly?" Liv asked, thankfully taking the attention away from me. She shoved Ren's feet out of the way and took a seat. "Don't tell me it's one of those awful talk shows you love so much."

"They're discussing the selected, Harper," he wiggled his eyebrows at Liv. "This show is doing a countdown on who's expected to win, they're already down to the top four."

Sure enough there was a number four in the top right-hand corner of the TV. I recognized the girl even before I read the name displayed.

Ren turned up the volume as we all quieted down to hear what the brunette show host had to say about Milana Ashworth.

"I must say I was a little surprised at this one, simply because we don't know very much about Lady Milana." The host paused as more pictures of Milana flashed across the screen. "What we do know is that she's currently majoring in psychology at the University of Clermont, she has a twin brother named Edward, and she's an avid Jane Austen fan."

I couldn't help but smile as the next picture showed an enthusiastic Milana holding up a vintage copy of Pride and Prejudice. She looked like a kid on Christmas and I found it quite endearing.

As Milana's face faded from the screen a number three appeared followed closely by a picture of Grace Wallace.

"Lady Grace is quite the opposite of Lady Milana," the host said with an awkward laugh. "Lady Grace happens to be a very open book. In my opinion she's the epitome of the girl next door."

"You've talked to Grace, haven't you Kit?" Sage asked from her spot beside me.

I nodded. "Yeah, I met her at the ball. It seems like a pretty accurate representation, but then again I only had the one conversation with her."

Liv whispered something to Ren, which distracted both of them from the introduction of Charise Borghese. Liv snapped her head up when she heard the words "Italian Count."

"Conte Borghese's daughter is in your Selection?" Liv looked relatively shocked.

"Do you know her?" I figured Liv didn't, but then again I wouldn't have guessed that Sydney knew her either and I'd already been proven wrong on that one.

"Well not really, but I've spoken to her before. Clarice, right?"

Sage burst out laughing. "It says her name right on the TV Livlee, only you could manage to still get it wrong."

Liv turned bright red but was luckily saved from further embarrassment when a loud drumroll came out of the speakers signalling the announcement of the top girl.

Tanis Gentry of Dakota stared back at me. I couldn't help but be surprised considering she was one of the few that I had yet to talk to.

The host bore a smug look as she began giving the description. "Lady Tanis has been modelling since she was a child, and has worked on six major campaigns." I had to admit it was pretty clear why Tanis was a model. "It's no surprise she was voted into our top spot considering how beloved she is by the country. I'd go as far to say she may be the perfect girl for out Prince Kit."

The TV went black and we all turned to see Jules standing behind us with the remote in her hand. "Breakfast is ready."

No one said a word as we sat down around the table, but moments after we began to eat the tension flowed away and it was like every other breakfast we'd ever had before. That is until Sage decided to make her announcement.

"I got accepted to go abroad for the semester," she said as she popped a raspberry in her mouth.

"Sage that's amazing," Liv grinned at our cousin who was sitting across the table from her. "Where are you going to go?"

"Auckland, New Zealand."

My fork clattered against my plate as it fell from my hand. Jules, Ren and Liv turned to stare at me as Sage averted her eyes. She knew I was not going to be happy about her leaving.

When I said nothing Liv sighed. "We should probably get going, Mom and Dad will no doubt have realized that we're missing."

Jules nodded and began to clear our plates away. "I'm working from home today but I should be in tomorrow if you need anything Kit."

"I'll be fine," without another word I headed out the door. I just wanted to be alone and if I didn't have to drive Liv home I probably wouldn't have gone back to the palace.

"Do you want to go somewhere?" She asked when she'd pulled the car door shut. Sometimes it scared me how much she understood me.

I very nearly said yes but I knew that I couldn't. "Avoiding things isn't going to make them go away."

Liv said nothing for the rest of the car ride and when we arrived she practically raced out of the garage. I sat alone for a few moments before I followed her inside. I was going to head straight to my room but I heard voices down one of the hallways.

I stopped to listen to make sure it wasn't my parents. I was not in the right mindset to run into them. I meant to continue to my room when I realized it wasn't them, but then I listened closer to what they were saying.

"They'll be begging to go home, and even if they don't, it'll be clear that they're not fit to be Queen." The voice carried an immense amount of venom and hatred. I wished it didn't belong to one of the selected but I knew I was wrong.

"You know," a second voice piped up. "If for some reason I don't get the crown, I totally hope you win Tanis."

Tanis Gentry was a cutthroat. Liv had told me that some of the girls were here simply for the crown, I just hadn't expected a public favourite to be one of them.

"Likewise Carlotta, I'll even put in a good word for you with the Prince if you help me with this."

Before I could even think through what I was doing I was around the corner and approaching them. Carlotta noticed me first and panic quickly spread to her face alerting Tanis that something was wrong.

When Tanis turned around she didn't even have enough civility to look guilty. She slunk into a curtsy with little delay. "Good morning Your Highness, we missed you at breakfast."

I took one deep breath and then spoke as calmly as I could muster. "Pack your bags, both of you. I want you gone by lunch."

I turned around and walked back the way I had come, paying no heed to Carlotta's whimpers or Tanis' insults.

If this Selection was going to work I couldn't let anything go unnoticed. A girl as vicious as Tanis or one with no backbone like Carlotta would never be Queen. If I could have control over one thing, it would be that.

* * *

A/N

Hey, I hope you guys enjoyed this somewhat quick update because I'm not sure if my schedule will let it happen again anytime soon. First before I forget to put it in like last time, I still need more selected, so please please please submit, it would mean the world to me. Also to those of you who have already submitted and are constantly reviewing, you guys make my day every time I read your reviews. Let me know what you think about Kit so far, he was a bit too moody at Jules' for my taste but I think it's good that he eliminated Tanis and Carlotta without second guessing himself. Hopefully this helped you all get a better idea about the relationship between the cousins (Jules, Ren, and Sage are Kit and Liv's only first cousins so I'm trying to put more emphasis on their relationship than on the more distant family members like Ella and Agnes).

Since I won't be updating again on or before the 24th, happy five year anniversary of The Selection!

Shaelynn


	7. Definitely Sienna

When Kit asked me to have brunch with the selected I was sceptical. Sydney was supposed to come with me but she refused to get out of bed, which is how I found myself walking into the palace by myself. When I entered the east parlour I found everyone waiting for me.

Two folders were laying untouched on the coffee table and I instantly knew what they meant. Kit had eliminated two more girls.

"Where's Sydney?" Liv asked as she made room for me on the couch.

"Her priorities are askew."

Ella laughed, "I say she's got the right idea. I mean who does Kit think he is making us take on all his selected?"

Liv rolled her eyes. "It's all part of the process." She got up off the couch and adjusted a piece of her hair even though it was already perfect. "Now I've got to go rearrange things since Syd isn't coming, I trust you four can do the folders?"

We all nodded and Liv darted out of the room, her summery dress swishing with every step she took. Without a moment's delay Sage jumped up and grabbed the eliminated girls' lives off the table. She handed one to Agnes and the other to Ella.

"As our guests you two should do the honours. Hannah and I will catch the next round."

I nodded in agreement and stood with Sage as Agnes approached the fire. "It's ridiculous to have this thing burning in the summer," my cousin said with a small laugh. She took on a more serious tone when she opened the folder. "Tanis Havana Gentry, 19 years old, and a resident of Dakota. May you find something better outside these walls."

Aggie smiled at me as she took a step back after depositing the file in the fire. Ella slowly made her way forward as she rifled through the papers Sage had handed her.

"Carlotta Hutton," I smiled as the letters slurred together under Ella's accent. I had begged my dad many times as a child to move to England so I could pick up the distinctive accent, but he had said no every time, not wanting to take me farther away from my mother.

"21 years," Ella went on. "Good luck in the real world."

I watched as the fire ate away at the papers, not stopping until they were merely ash like Tanis'. It was quite remarkable that we could erase so much with so little.

"We should go find Liv," Ella said after a few more moments. "Supposedly we're eating in the south ballroom. It seems like overkill if you ask me."

She walked off, her heels clacking against the marble floor. Sage and Agnes followed close behind as I slowly ambled in the back. I tuned out their voices as we walked and turned my focus to my studies.

I'd been reviewing light and optics over breakfast so it was fresh in my mind. It was my worst physics unit and I was positively determined to not let it get the best of me on the final.

You would think telling the difference between mirrors and lenses was easy—but let me tell you—it's not. The only thing that got me through that unit in the first place was the fact that none of the other kids understood it either. There was one particular question on the exam that the whole class had stared at until the bell rang and the teacher collected our tests. Needless to say, none of us got it.

I smiled thinking about how I had considered dropping the class after that. Luckily I had forced myself to return the next day, and here I was months later, one exam away from completing it.

As I walked under an arch that signalled what we classified as the south side of the palace, I turned my thoughts to my current task. Brunch with the selected.

"Are you coming Hannah?" Sage called as she waited outside the ballroom doors. I nodded; she turned and proceeded inside.

My jaw dropped a little when I walked through the doors. The room was gorgeously decorated with fresh flowers and sparkling centerpieces at four round tables. The chairs had large satin bows tied around them in various colours and the table clothes were made of a beautiful lace.

Liv was adjusting a vase at the far table; when she saw all of us she clapped her hands together. "Excellent, we're just about ready." As she made her way towards us she must have fixed at least five things that I hadn't even noticed needed fixing. "You can each take a seat at one of the tables and then we'll let the girls sit wherever they want. It'll give us the chance to see which ones find you approachable."

"What happens when no one sits at Ella's table?" Ella smacked Sage as the rest of us laughed.

Liv smirked, "as you can see each table has the same amount of chairs. It's first come first serve. If they get here late then they sit wherever there is still room."

Sage shrugged and walked away to the table farthest from the door where she sat in a chair clad with a turquoise ribbon. Agnes and I moved almost at the exact same time, going right and left respectively. Once I had sat down I looked up to see Ella pulling out a chair at the last table.

Liv smiled at us, "five minutes until the girls should start showing up. Good luck."

As the doors shut we were left staring at each other in confusion. Ella spoke first, "so, what exactly are we supposed to do when they show up?"

Sage shrugged, "I think we're expected to ask the questions that everyone else is too scared to ask." Ella scrunched her nose in slight confusion prompting Sage to elaborate. "You know, like if they eat their pizza with pineapple on it."

"What if they don't like it?" Ella asked, picking at the black polish on her pinky.

"Then we have no choice but to send them home."

Sage laughed at my comment. "Something tells me you're going to be pretty good at this Han."

As I opened my mouth to form a sarcastic remark, the doors were reopened. A quick headcount revealed there to be eleven of the selected. They'd clearly been briefed on what to do because they all immediately branched off, a few coming to each table.

Three of them approached my table. The first two looked to already be close friends, while the third, clad noticeably in long sleeves, lagged a bit behind.

"Lady Hannah," the smaller of the first two girls began, "it would be an honour if we could dine with you this morning."

I nearly gagged at the formality. "The pleasure is all mine," I replied with as much class as I could muster. After they had taken their seats—all three across from me—I smiled at them. "Would you be able to remind me of your names?"

"I'm Margot Leon," the shorter of the first two girls said.

"Danielle Pratt," spoke her friend.

Long Sleeves looked a little nervous but after a smile from Margot she raised her eyes to mine, "I'm Gwen, Gwen Pritchard."

"Excellent, it's so nice to meet you ladies. I'm Hannah Carrington," I decided to tell them a little bit about myself to break the ice. "My dad is Prince Charles of England, he's Queen Amberly's cousin which is why I live part-time here in the palace. I'll be moving to Allens in the fall though to attend university."

Margot opened her mouth to say something but was stopped when two more of the selected came and asked for permission to dine with me. They introduced themselves as "Quincy Adams," and "Roseanna Taylor."

Quincy, who had happily sat down next to Gwen, looked around the room puzzled. "Some people really take the fashionably late thing overboard."

I realized she was right, while Agnes' table was nearing full, Ella and Sage were still missing four girls each. "I'm sure they'll be here soon," I mumbled, even though I didn't quite believe my words.

Quincy shrugged and then turned to Gwen and struck up a conversation. The other girls began talking amongst themselves as well, leaving me to pretend I wasn't completely bored.

After a couple more minutes Milana Ashworth came and apologised for her tardiness, then after that Julia Saunders arrived but she didn't bother with an apology.

I looked across the room for maybe the millionth time that morning and took note of the other tables. There was one open seat at Ella's table and one at mine. She met my gaze and rolled her eyes, I knew she wouldn't be kind to whoever the last seats belonged to.

They came in only moments after that. Two brunettes, one noticeably frazzled, the other looking just plain annoyed at the situation. The frazzled one came my way leaving the other to noticeably pale when she realized all eyes were on her and the only empty seat was next to Princess Ella.

I was forced to turn my eyes away as Frazzled addressed me.

"I am so sorry Lady Hannah." She took a deep breath, I expected her heart was probably racing. "I was ready early to make sure I wasn't late but I bumped into Ruby in the hallway and I noticed she had a burn on her dress. I think the maids had the iron on too hot," she realized pretty quickly that she was beginning to ramble. "Anyway, when Ruby went back to her room the door was locked and we couldn't find anyone with a key so I told her she could borrow one of my dresses." She took another breath, "problem is we're not the same size, so my maid had to make quick adjustments and before we knew it we were incredibly late."

I couldn't help but crack a smile. "It's completely fine, we were all just getting to know each other." Maybe I hadn't been included in the conversations, but it had looked like the other girls were getting to know each other.

Frazzled nodded, looking at each of the other girls in turn. As she took the empty seat on my right she gave a nervous smile. "I'm Penelope by the way."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Penelope." The whole room fell into conversation as the wait staff began to serve food.

After everyone got some sustenance in their systems I forced myself to make an effort. "I love your dress Lady Milana."

The elegant girl sat on Penelope's other side positively beamed. "Thank you so much. I myself am extremely jealous of yours."

I blushed, not used to being complimented on my fashion.

"A lot of people seem to have copied my colour," Penelope said winking at Gwen, they were wearing almost the exact same shade of burgundy. Penelope then went on to wave at a third burgundy girl who was sat at Sage's table. "If I'm honest, I kind of stole the idea from Grace. I saw her dress yesterday before I'd picked out mine."

"Speaking of dresses, how did you all enjoy your first royal ball?" All eight of the girls perked up at my mention of the ball.

"It was spectacular," grinned Danielle.

Julia nodded her agreement. "I got some great photos," she said pointing to the camera sat beside her plate.

"It would be pretty awesome to be able to attend another one," spoke Margot, wistfully.

I shrugged, "chances are you all will be at more. Around here they're not exactly a rarity. I mean for all we know there could be one next week."

"Have you attended balls at other palaces Lady Hannah?" Roseanna questioned, as she added some strawberries to her plate.

"As a matter of fact I have. Most of them were in England but I've also been to a couple in France and Swendway."

Milana showed a particular interest in my words. "I keep telling myself I'm going to see France, and Swendway, and England, and the whole world, but something always comes up." Her initial excitement had faded to near sadness by the last word.

Penelope placed her hand on Milana's back. "You'll get there someday Lana. I mean we're all so young, we have years and years left to have adventures."

The other girls all nodded their agreement and I found myself with only one question. "What if you're the one though?"

"Then he's the one," a soft smile grazed Penelope's lips, "and that means we'll be on a whole different type of adventure."

Milana and Roseanna seemed to agree, but the younger girls—the ones my age—looked a bit scared at the notion. There was however the exception of Gwen, she looked calmer than she had all morning. I decided then that by the time I left for Allens in August, I would figure out Gwen's story.

The other girls were clearer to me. Maybe I didn't understand every detail of them, but at least I understood something. I was known to be unyielding when I couldn't solve a problem, this situation would be no different.

As the conversation fell away to allow bites of food, I began examining some of the other girls sat around the room.

Agnes' whole table was engrossed in what must have been a fascinating topic, while Ella's and Sage's tables resembled mine quite closely. Ella seemed to be refusing to talk to anyone, as she was stuck between the tardy Ruby and a girl whose gaze never lifted from the tablecloth. Sage on the other hand had an untouched plate of food sitting in front of her as she talked animatedly with the girl on her right.

"Do you know who that is sat next to Sage?"

I'd directed the question at Julia who was on my left but she said nothing leaving Danielle to answer. "That's Sienna Larson, she's quite lovely, isn't she Margot?"

Margot nearly choked on her bite of food but as she swallowed she nodded enthusiastically. "Lovely, yes that's definitely Sienna. We met on the plane when I was a ball of nerves, but she calmed me down within seconds."

"Can I presume that you're all getting along pretty well then? I've been stuck in the city studying and so I'm kind of out of the selection loop."

Margot opened up her mouth to speak again but Quincy quickly cut her off. "Well we've been alright," she twirled a ringlet around her finger as she pursed her lips. "Margot's been a little," she tapped her index finger to her cheek, "how should I put this? Happy, I guess. I mean some of us are trying to complain about the garbage accommodations but she never stops praising it all. You'd think she's never left the house before."

The other girls giggled but Margot had turned a bright red. Trying to take the spotlight off of her I asked the girls what their afternoon plans were.

"Jasmine and I are going to teach some of the other girls some dance moves," Danielle replied, as she cut her pancake into evenly sized squares.

"I'm afraid I'll be missing that," Penelope looked apologetically at Danielle. "I have a date with Harry Potter." She winked and Danielle laughed.

"I wish I would've brought my copies," Margot sounded a little bit jealous. "Do you think I could borrow yours once you're done?"

Penelope bit her lip, "do you know any French?"

Margot arched her eyebrow, "no?"

"Then I'm going to have to say you don't want to borrow my books." When she received a series of questioning looks Penelope elaborated. "I'm learning how to speak French, so I'm rereading the books en français in my free time. I've always found that I pick up on new languages faster when I'm reading my favourite stories."

"'Always?' Are you saying you've done this before?" Quincy sounded both shocked and impressed.

Penelope shrugged, "in middle school there was this exchange student, and she knew next to no English. I was the only one in the class who knew Spanish so I translated for her. I decided then and there that I wanted to become a translator, and since I'm such a perfectionist I figured why not teach myself even more languages?"

"I like that," I nearly jumped out of my seat when I heard Liv's voice from behind me. "You must have a great work ethic." Liv placed her hand on my shoulder. "I'm afraid I have to take Hannah from you lovely ladies, we have a meeting to attend."

They all muttered a mixture of greetings, acknowledgments, and farewells to their Princess as she grabbed my wrist and dragged me around to the other tables to collect the rest of our family.

The four of us followed Liv obediently out of the ballroom and into the nearby library. She gave us a smile that had a trace of wickedness in it and thus put me on edge.

"Now you've all completed part one, the second part is really quite simple."

Ella gawked at Liv. "Part two? What are you talking about? There is absolutely no way you can get me to go back in there."

"I'm not asking you to," Liv said as if it were obvious. "I'm going upstairs to get Kit, and while I'm gone you each have to pick one of the girls you dined with. Kit will meet with all four of them separately this afternoon and choose two of them to eliminate."

My eyes widened, "how on earth are we supposed to decide that?"

"Well my choice is easy," Ella was now positively smug. "Ruby Reynolds. There is no excuse for being late to a meeting with royalty."

I scoffed, "you can't put her up for elimination just because she was late, you're always late to everything Ella."

Ella glared at me and Sage rolled her eyes. "You've got seven other girls to choose from Ella, I'm sure you despise another one just as much as you despise poor Ruby."

As Ella thought through the other girls I realized Liv had snuck out sometime during our bickering. She could be back with Kit any minute.

"Leila Page," Ella finally decided. "She was sat next to me and we didn't share a single word the whole morning. I don't even think she spoke to the other girls."

Sage nodded, "sounds like a fair choice. Mine is Sienna Larson. She didn't seem to be getting on well with the other girls, I think she's got a bit of a temper."

I stared at Sage, I was completely perplexed. Everything I had heard about Sienna was positive, and it had looked like she and Sage had been getting along famously. Something must have happened between them when I wasn't looking.

I was still gaping at Sage when Agnes finished telling us in the politest way possible that Dusty Aurelius was an airhead. When all three pairs of eyes turned on me I started to panic. I hadn't even began to think of who I was going to pick. My circumstances were intensified as I heard footsteps outside the door, so taking a deep breath I decided to go with my gut.

"Julia Saunders."

* * *

A/N

Happy May everyone! It's been exactly a month since I last updated which I feel really terrible about but I promised myself I'd get you guys this next chapter before the end of the long weekend, so here I am meeting my deadline. Something you all probably picked up in the first six chapters is that I write extremely short chapters, I have no clue why, it's just how my mind works. That being said the length of this particular chapter is really freaking me out which is kind of sad considering many of you will still consider it short.

Now about the chapter content, I'm sorry if I didn't portray your character exactly to your liking. I'm trying to get a feel for all of the girls as well as progress the story along and sometimes I miss details. There is plenty of time in the future for things to change so don't let anything that happened in this chapter worry you.

Now on to Hannah, I don't think we've ever really talked about her title. From what I've read being the daughter of a Prince would make her a Princess, but I chose instead to have the characters address her as Lady Hannah. When you consider the life she lives it just makes more sense that she and Sydney don't have the Princess title. There are also many other details that contribute to this but I'm afraid you'll have to stick with the story to learn them!

Last quick thing, I added quite a few new face claims for the royals to my Pinterest shaelynnsophia. You will most likely notice that they're way too young to be used for 50 year olds but in truth I picked the actors when I intended on publishing the prequel first, so if you subtract 28 years from their ages I think you'll find the actors are much more suited.

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter

Shaelynn


	8. A Strategy

I followed Sage immediately after she left the library. I needed a reason. I just couldn't figure out why she would put Sienna up for elimination.

We were nearly to the back door when she turned around. "Is there something I can help you with Hanny?" Her eyes told me she knew exactly what she could help me with.

I gave her what she wanted and asked anyway, "why Sienna?"

Sage smirked and then continued on out the door. When she stopped to find her keys she once again acknowledged me. "I had a strategy. You three didn't."

I raised my eyebrows. "Care to share that strategy?"

Unlocking her door Sage met my gaze. "Liv wanted us to pick the worst girl, instead I picked the best girl." Turning she got in her car and began to back out as I stood still confused on the pavement.

"Why?" I called out, not expecting an answer.

Unrolling her window she still wore a grin. "Don't you get it Hanny? He's only eliminating two of the girls. It's not my job to tell Kit who to eliminate, so instead of helping him I figured why not help out the nice girl I met this morning by getting her a date with the Prince?"

As she drove away I stood there wondering how I hadn't seen it coming. Leave it to Sage to find a way to cheat at a game I didn't even know we were playing.

Finding my own keys I unlocked my car and was careful not to snag my dress on the door as I pulled it shut behind me. Turning up the radio I tried to quiet my thoughts but as I hit the highway I knew I'd have to live with whatever Kit decided.

Did Julia deserve to go home? Not in my opinion, and yet I'd put her steps away from just that. Sage was right, Kit wouldn't eliminate Sienna, so that left Dusty, Leila, and Julia. Two of them would be gone before I was back at the palace; something about that felt wrong.

There were so many more important things I needed to be focusing on though, exams, my valedictorian speech, university. I had no room for the selection and yet it had taken over my mind. Namely Julia and Gwen were what troubled me, but I knew as the days went on things would only get worse.

Sydney always said that my fatal flaw was that I cared too much. I isolated myself so much as a child that I never understood how that could be true. I knew now that it was though. Kit's selected had been nicer to me than any girls at school ever had, and I didn't want to lose that.

I was forced to turn my focus onto the road as I reached the city limits. The drive passed rather quickly when I was distracted.

Sydney's apartment was just outside the city center. She'd started renting it two days after her eighteenth birthday but she'd barely even lived in it. I think she found it rather lonely when I wasn't around. Syd was definitely a people person, she'd always been surrounded by friends in school.

She had her heart broken when she was fifteen and thus strayed away from romance but friendship was what comforted Sydney most. Then there was also our family history. Neither of us felt the pull to be around our extended family at the palace. I never felt like I fit and Sydney never wanted to. That's not to say we didn't love our cousins–we did–there were just more complexities to it than that.

Over the years when I realized how broken she was I felt a stronger connection to Sage. Then came the day that I acknowledged that she was more damaged than me. I couldn't come back from that so instead I put my best foot forward and tried harder, because if someone like Sage and her siblings could make the effort, there was no excuse for me.

Sydney never reached that point, so instead she went to England where she was freed from the usual familial obligations and given others. I never quite understood why she left. Why she thought Aunt Jane and the other cousins would give her less trouble. Maybe it wasn't as much about that as I assumed it was, maybe she just needed out. Sometimes I felt like anywhere would be better than here.

Pulling into the parkade I drove straight to my usual spot beside Sydney's car. It was taken by a black sedan and I felt my breath instantly catch in my throat. Finding the next open spot I was out the door in a second. I hit the lock button, heard the horn beep, and then found myself running to the exit.

A breeze ruffled my hair as the sunlight touched my skin. I probably looked ridiculous to anyone watching, running down the sidewalk with my purse barely hanging onto my shoulder. I reached the familiar brick building in a surprisingly small number of strides considering it was at the other end of the block from the parkade.

Using my key I unlocked the front door and headed straight for the main stairwell. Three floors up and to the end of the hallway.

I knew exactly what to expect when I turned the door knob and yet I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was incredibly nervous. I had no idea what I would say to him. If I asked it would sound like I cared, and I couldn't bring myself to do that. Before I had a moment more of thought the door was opened for me.

Sydney looked only mildly surprised to see me, she must've heard footsteps in the hallway. "Guess who's here," her tone made it clear that it was not a question so I didn't answer. "He arrived about an hour ago and I've run out of things to say."

"My turn?" I asked knowingly.

"Your turn," my sister replied stepping out of the way and allowing me entrance into the apartment.

He was sat on the sofa in the living room with a cup of tea in his hand. When he saw me he put the tea aside and stood up with a smile on his face. "Hannah darling, I've missed you so much."

I wrapped my arms around him in a tight embrace, because no matter where he had been I would always love him. "I missed you too Dad."

"Sydney tells me you were having brunch with Kit's selected," he said as he retook his seat and I sat beside him.

I nodded, "it was a lovely morning." I quickly came up with a safe conversation topic; cousin Agnes. "Now that you're back you should go see Aggie before she returns to Sweden."

"I was actually planning on inviting her out tonight. Are you okay with staying with Sydney for one more day?"

I rolled my eyes, "I'm almost eighteen dad, I could stay home alone." He didn't look like he was going to budge so I sighed, "if it makes you feel better though I'll stay here so you can go to another play without me."

"You and I have plenty of traditions Hanny but this one I'm afraid is not one of them. I can call up Harry though if you want some uncle-niece bonding time."

"Or," a grin spread across my face, "you could buy me a plane ticket to Swendway and I could spend time with Uncle Andrew."

My dad rolled his eyes. "Not a chance. This is my last summer with you, you're not sneaking away that easily."

A silence fell between us as I realized how true his words were. We didn't know where I'd be next summer, or what I'd be doing. Sydney was still around now, but only because she'd been abroad for the year. Her plans after Kit's selection ended would be taking her far from Angeles. Meaning that even if I did come home things would be different.

My dad's gaze shifted to the door and I turned to see Sydney leaning against the frame having decided to join us. Her lips were pursed and I could tell that she was feeling just as reminiscent as me.

"Your sisters miss you."

I'm sure my dad meant just to fill the air with conversation but instead his words created an immense amount of tension.

Sydney began to glare at him and I bit my lip not wanting to start an argument. "I'm glad you had a good trip Dad," I finally said.

"Gabrielle is turning fifteen in a couple of weeks."

I sighed, clearly he wasn't going to let us avoid the topic. "Then why didn't you stay?"

He ran a hand through his hair, a nervous tick that I'd been told he'd possessed even as a teenager. "I wasn't going to miss my little girl's graduation."

Sydney finally broke her silence. "That's nice Dad, but Margo couldn't be bothered to extend Hannah the same curtesy?" Not waiting for a response Sydney stormed out the door, no doubt wishing she'd never come to begin with.

Once she was gone my dad turned back to me. "Your mother loves you dearly Hannah, I hope you realize that."

I shook my head. "She's never proven that to me Dad. Tell her that if she doesn't come," I took a deep breath knowing that if I was going to begin my life anew in the fall that I'd have to make a permanent decision on my mom, "we're done. I can't do this with her anymore." Emotion bled out in my voice and I hoped more than anything that my dad could hear it.

He nodded, his face infinitely more solemn than usual. "I'll call her when I get home." Standing he gave me a forced smile. "Tell Sydney that I'm sorry."

He left and a moment later I heard the front door open and then close. Sydney must have heard too because she came to me a moment later.

Before I could get out our dad's apology she handed me her phone. It was open to her conversation with Sage and the most recent text had been sent only seconds ago.

 _Tell Hannah that we won this round._

* * *

A/N

I'm really sorry about the long time between updates but I'm at a point in my life that is busier than I could've ever expected. I hope you all enjoyed the insight into the Carrington family dynamic, things are going to be quite interesting now that Charles is back. If you recall there were four girls up for possible elimination and so Sage's text signifies the dismissal of Dusty Aurelius and Leila Page; we're now down to 30 girls!

Thank you all for your reviews, they mean the world to me

Shaelynn


	9. The Crown and the Sceptre

Kit had only been home for two weeks and he'd already eliminated eight girls; I was impressed. The last time I'd seen him in England it had taken him over an hour to decide which movie we should watch. For his sake I was glad he was more decisive when it came to love.

In the time since the eventful brunch, Kit had made it through nearly all the girls. Mila and Crimson were instantaneous rejections, while Ari had two dates before she was sent home. On the more positive side of things, Kit took Massie to a private dinner with his parents, went stargazing with Malia, and took a daytrip–to a destination unknown to me–with Claire.

I told him time and time again to send Ruby home but he simply laughed at my insistence. With two weeks already gone, I decided to take matters into my own hands. After all, I was Ella Lacey, second in line to England, and every once in a while, I needed to exercise some power.

When Ruby opened her mouth to speak after finding me at her door, I held my hand up to silence her. "I know exactly what you're hiding Honey, and I think you've overstayed your welcome."

Ruby arched her eyebrows, taking a step forward. "Are you threatening me?"

I smiled sweetly, "I'm just telling you how it is. I, am a princess, you are nothing. If you think you can get away with what you're doing, then please go right ahead, but know that I always win."

Her laugh was maniacal, and if I wasn't so confident I probably would've blushed. "We'll see Ella."

As the door slammed in my face I considered the job done, her words meant nothing. I turned around and headed quickly to one of the cars waiting out front, knowing I had more important things to be doing. I slid in next to Jules and muttered an apology for my tardiness.

Jules was noticeably pale. "We have a problem." As the car pulled into motion she looked into my eyes. "Margo's here."

"Do Syd and Hannah know?"

Nodding Jules took a deep breath, "Hannah asked her to come. She just never expected that Margo would actually say yes."

"So," I forced myself to stop fiddling with the hem of my dress. Nerves were not what I needed in that moment, I needed a solution. "What do we do?"

"Control Sydney," Jules tried to laugh. "Hannah's worked so hard to get here, she's supposed to be the center of attention."

I now had a mission, something to distract me from my earlier confrontation with Ruby. "I won't let anything ruin her day."

Sighing, Jules gave me a sympathetic pat on my back. "I doubt we can assure that. In this family it's impossible to have a perfect day."

Agreeing to disagree we both relaxed into the leather seats. Jules pulled out her phone and I let the warmness of the sun completely envelop me.

With my eyes closed I had no clue how much time had passed when I felt the car stop and heard the engine turn off. When I opened them I turned to see Jules still typing away, oblivious to the fact that we had arrived.

When the driver opened the door I was out of the car in a blink. I nearly ran over Agnes whose car had arrived first.

"I think I saw Charles over there," Agnes gestured to the northerly part of the park.

"Margo?" I asked, a shiver running through my body.

She nodded. "It's doing no one any good having her here. Charles especially. He refuses to move past her, but he must if he ever truly wants to be happy again."

"Is that another palace car?" Jules squinted in the sunlight as she made her way towards us. I looked over my shoulder and realized that she was right; a palace car had just pulled into the lot.

Before I could get a look at who it was, Hannah came bounding across the park, a huge grin on her face.

"Someone clearly hasn't spoken to Margo yet," I mumbled sarcastically before Hannah was within earshot.

Instead of stopping to speak with us, she merely said a quick "thank you for coming," and then continued on to the other car where two of Kit's Selected had emerged from.

Normally I would have made some remark about being surrounded by the Selection, but in the moment I was frantically looking around to make sure Ruby hadn't come with them. I had said I wouldn't let anything ruin Hannah's day, but I wasn't sure if I could restrain myself if the Brunette Bimbo was nearby.

"Ella!"

I snapped to attention when I heard my name called. "Sydney," I smiled when I saw my cousin coming towards me.

Once she reached me she took my arm and pulled me away to a slightly less populated area of the park. Syd unzipped her purse and pulled out a silver flask. "We're drinking."

I arched my eyebrows at her command but then shrugged. "You don't have to ask me twice."

As I took the flask from her Sydney let out a huge sigh. "I can't stand my mother. I mean she came here acting like the last seventeen years hadn't happened."

I had nothing to say to comfort her so I passed her back the burning liquid. After a few moments Sydney's face lit up and she waved frantically at someone behind me. I turned around to see Ren approaching us.

"Good to see I'm not the only one drinking," he laughed, pulling out his own flask and offering it to me.

I gladly accepted, "you're a good man Ren Hart."

"If only the ex-girlfriend thought like you," his tone made it clear that he was joking but I was sober enough to know that he was still hurting from his breakup.

"Looks like it's starting," Sydney wore a frown as she leaned awkwardly to see around the tree we were hiding behind.

"Unless you're dying to sit beside Margo, I suggest we watch from back here."

I grinned at Ren's ingenious idea. "I'll drink to that."

He laughed but Sydney didn't look convinced. "I told Hannah I'd be where she could see me for her speech."

Ren shrugged, "but that's not for a while. We can go sit with the family when they call Han up to the stage."

I took a seat on the grass, not waiting for Sydney's reply. She and Ren joined me just as the ceremony began.

I had never been to a graduation before. Being schooled at the English palace meant that I didn't have my own and I had been on a peacekeeping trip with Christopher when Sydney graduated. I was quite enamored with the whole thing as I sat in the background pulling up tufts of grass. The attraction wore out when I heard Hannah's named called and realized that I had to get up.

As Syd and Ren quickly put away their empty flasks, I began to make my way over to the hordes of people watching the graduation. When I found my family I was relieved to see they had saved us seats. I assumed the one next to Charles was for Sydney and the one between Sage and Jules was for Ren so that left me sitting on the end of the row next to one of the selected, Penelope I believed her name was.

Margo looked disapprovingly at her daughter when Sydney arrived. If it wasn't for the public locale, I would have slapped the woman. She lost the right to reprimand Syd a long time ago.

"Good afternoon," everyone's attention turned to Hannah, except for mine.

My purse was vibrating, and normally I would've ignored it, but for some reason I didn't. I opened my bag and looked at my phone; I saw the number.

I got out of my seat and walked a few paces away from the crowd, trying not to disturb anyone but at the same time not caring. I hit the answer button because I had to, not because I wanted to.

"Hello?" My voice was weak, only once before had I received a call from this number. "This is Robin Elizabeth Beatrice Ella Lacey."

"I regret to inform you," my heart stopped, "that the Crown and the Sceptre have fallen."

I would've broken, right then and there, but in that moment my eyes locked with Hannah's. Her day was going to be perfect, so I smiled and she gave me the purest grin.

When she looked away I was met once again with my crumbling world. "How?" I croaked into the phone.

"There was an accident, the details of which cannot yet be disclosed." A heartbeat was all he gave me before he continued. "Your presence is needed at court immediately. A plane is being prepped as we speak."

Looking around to make sure I wasn't being watched, I headed towards the palace cars. "Tell my dad that I'm on my way."

Dropping my phone into my bag, I quickened my pace until I heard my name being called. I turned around to see Penelope following me, concern etched on her face.

"I've got to go," was all I could manage to say.

When I reached the cars I caught the attention of one of the drivers who was standing in the shade trying to stay cool. "I need to be taken to the airport."

He didn't question me, just held the door open so I could get in. As he shut the door the other side opened revealing Penelope, who clearly wanted an answer for my disappearance.

Sitting beside me she said nothing until the driver had pulled out onto the highway. "Something happened if you're headed to the airport, don't try to deny it."

That's when the tears started, and what I'd just been told sank in; they were gone. Two of the most important people in my life were dead. I would never see them again.

Turning I looked Penelope dead in the eyes. "Go home Penelope, and I don't mean to the castle. Leave this place as fast as you can, and never look back."

She tucked a strand of hair gingerly behind her ear, taking a moment to process what I had just demanded of her. "What if I'm the one?" She raised her eyebrows, "what if I leave and Prince Kit is forced to marry someone who he doesn't love?"

"Then he can die knowing that at least you were safe." Penelope didn't look convinced, causing me to swing my head back in exasperation. "Look at the freaking history books. Everyone dies."

The driver swerved the car as my yelling threw him off guard. In that moment I wanted nothing more than for the car to crash, to take me away from this wretched earth, but instead the driver recovered and it was like that moment had never happened.

"History isn't about the living." Penelope appeared to be quite hung up on my outburst. "It's about the heroes who fell fighting–literally or metaphorically–for what they believed in. It's about Kennedy Schreave who ridded Illéa of the caste system, and Emma Hart who took an English girl and made her into the strongest, most benevolent queen this country has ever seen."

I shook my head, "you can find good in anything."

"Give me the bad then, tell me what I'm missing."

I turned my head forward, I couldn't handle Penelope's stony gaze for a moment longer. "It's about my mother," I took a breath. "Someone who had the crown forced upon her at a very young age and has been dealing with the consequences ever since. It's about her sister who although the second child, was _born_ to be queen. Who did amazing things for England and who was forced to abdicate when her parents' secret came out."

Penelope looked like she was going to explode. "Beatrice stole from the people. The taxes she put in place nearly bankrupted thousands."

I laughed as I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. "No my Darling, that's what history told you happened. Beatrice had already been ousted when the taxes were put in place, she was used purely as a scapegoat."

Struggling for words, she fidgeted in her seat, "but why?"

"The royal advisors saw it as a way to not only pay for Mum's coronation, but also to win the people over to her side. They knew once she ascended she wouldn't waste a second before decreasing the tax."

Penelope snorted, "and that's all it took to make her the beloved queen that she is today?"

I faltered at her words, but like the driver, I recovered quickly. "There was a little more to it than that." The distraction this conversation was meant to be was no longer as efficient now that the topic was my mother, but I forced myself to continue. "She was legitimate, she was married to a nobleman, that nobleman wasn't previously divorced. Mainly though, the people trusted her in a way that they never trusted any of her siblings. Elizabeth was trained to be queen, Beatrice was trained to be the spare, and her brothers spent a good share of their time at boarding school, they were quite removed from the monarchy. Jane was different."

Penelope waited for more, but that was all I had. My mother wasn't your typical princess, and at the time of her ascension, she was what the people needed.

As we neared the airport I finally faced why we were in the car to begin with. "I'm being called back to England. That's what you tell Kit, or Liv, or anyone who asks."

She nodded solemnly, "how bad is it?"

I fought off the tears as best I could but in a matter of seconds they overtook me. That was all the answer Penelope needed so once I regained myself I pleaded with her. "Don't say anything about this, please. They'll know soon enough, just not today, today is Hannah's day."

As we pulled to a stop on the tarmac the driver hopped out of the car and pulled open my door. Penelope grabbed my hand before I could get out. "Whatever it is, I am _so_ sorry. You deserve better than this."

Her words meant more to me than I would ever let on. I really should have thanked her but I just didn't have the strength.

Stepping out of the car I turned back one last time, "tell Hannah I'm sorry."

* * *

A/N

You all deserved this back in June but I just couldn't bring myself to finish it. It's a really important chapter to me because Ella's whole world falls to pieces and I wanted to get it right. Every time I read through it I changed something but I finally just had to force myself to leave it. Really I don't think there is a way to get loss right but hopefully the next few chapters will help to capture it.

If you guys have any questions please let me know! I'll clarify a few things right now. Ruby isn't gone, once she finds out Ella is back in England she no longer has a reason to leave. A lot went down between Margo and Charles that you'll just have to wait to find out, but the family is justified in not liking her. Ella's name isn't actually Ella. All her names are tribute names except for Ella so even though it is officially her middle name it's the name she's always been called. The Crown and the Sceptre are two important people in Ella's life, feel free to guess, you'll find out more in the coming chapters. Kennedy Schreave's selection was the original story I intended to publish but I instead chose to write this one. Really all you need to know is that he was a king of Illéa, and like Penelope says, he was the one who abolished the castes. Emma Hart (I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before) is the mother of the wonderful Jules, Ren, and Sage, more about her will be coming later. There was a lot of scandal surrounding the English royals a couple decades ago which is what resulted in Jane becoming queen.

I'm off travelling for the next couple of weeks so the next chapter won't be posted for quite some time. I'm still waiting on some of the details of the selected but I would like to start doing some selected POVs so it would be lovely if you guys sent me the rest of your characters. The full list of the girls is now up on my profile and although you don't know them very well I would love to hear who you want to see more of.

I hope you're all having a lovely summer

Shaelynn


	10. Truth or Dare

"Sienna!"

Snapping my eyes away from the window I turned to see Savannah White looking down at me, a small smile lighting up her face.

Savannah was pleasant enough, she often clashed with the other girls when Prince Kit was mentioned, but then again, we were all technically competitors. Aside from that I quite enjoyed her company, she had some amazing stories from her time with the Illéan Space Program that often helped me escape my thoughts when Prince Kit was on dates with the other girls.

"What are you looking at?" the brunette took a seat on the armrest of my chair.

I drew her attention to my point of interest; the royal family was all gathered outside and they appeared to be having a heated discussion. "They got back around twenty minutes ago. Princess Liv greeted them and then she got into an argument with Jules." I paused for a moment as Queen Amberly arrived on the scene. "Princess Liv started questioning Penelope and then Gwen left; when she came back she had Prince Kit with her."

"Why would they be questioning Penny?" Savannah cut in.

I shrugged, "that's what I want to find out."

Savannah let out a playful laugh, "you do realize this window opens, don't you?" Getting up she pulled on a latch I hadn't noticed before and slowly began to crank the window open, so as not to draw too much attention to us.

I slid down onto the floor to get closer and once my dress stopped rustling I could just barely make out what the royals were saying.

"I'm sorry Your Majesty, but there is nothing else I know," Penelope was clearly exasperated.

"A whole car ride and she said nothing? I've never known Ella to be a quiet girl."

Savannah and I locked eyes when we heard the queen's words. Whatever this was about it had something to do with Princess Ella.

"Where do you think she is?" Savannah whispered as Penelope responded to the queen.

"England?" I replied jokingly.

The sound of an engine quickly filled our ears as a car pulled up the drive. "Just act like we're here to greet her," Liv said, looking suddenly more nervous.

The Carrington sisters, along with their dad, and a woman I didn't recognize, came out of the car to the fabricated glee of the royals. Within moments Jules had ushered everyone inside leaving me with no one to eavesdrop on.

Savannah slowly shut the window, pursing her lips. "Well, that was something."

"Something doesn't even begin to cover it," I thought to myself. Penelope was lying; she had to be. There was no way Princess Ella left without saying anything to anyone.

"They're back," Katie Parker unceremoniously sat down on the floor next to us without question. I hadn't even heard her come in the room.

Nodding, Savannah gestured to the window. "We just saw them walk in."

Katie turned a bit red at knowing her information had been useless to us. I gave her a smile of reassurance in return. I liked Katie; I mean besides wearing too much eyeliner, she was the type of person I would've been friends with at home.

"Anyway," Katie said moving on, "a few of the girls are playing Truth or Dare in Celine's room. Do you two want to come play?"

Savannah's face lit up immediately and she was off the floor a second after that. She looked at me expectantly, and sadly, I had no excuse. "Sure, we'll play."

* * *

When we arrived the game had clearly already started. Julia Saunders brushed past us on her way out, her cheeks deathly pale, no doubt having just been dared to do something.

Claire Darrion gave a big wave and then patted on the empty chair next to her. "Come join us! Molly is just about to take her turn."

The second I sat down Molly and I locked eyes. "Truth or dare, Sienna?" The redhead took a foreboding tone but had a small smile dancing across her lips.

"Truth."

Molly's smile deepened at my quick response. I didn't know much about her, but I could tell that she was impressed. After a few moments she came up with a satisfactory question, her smile disappeared and everyone absentmindedly leaned in to hear.

"Are you in love with Prince Kit?"

I stayed calm while the other girls–especially Savannah–looked very uncomfortable, but it was just a question, and one I could answer honestly.

"No," I said without a doubt. Trying to ignore the gasps I continued, "not yet. We barely know him. If any of you reckon you do, you're fooling yourselves." I knew for certain I was falling dangerously in love with him, but that was not something I wished to share with anyone.

"Régine," now that it was my turn I looked to the intimidating girl sat next to Molly. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," she purred, taking arguably even less time than me to respond.

I wished she had said dare, but instead I found myself scrambling for something to ask her. I had to quell the urge to say the vicious question that I really wanted an answer to. Instead I settled on the first thing that came to mind. "Did you really go to French boarding school?"

The girls looked let down at my question, but Régine smirked, she knew she had bested me. "It's true. Celine," she moved on without a second thought and now the pressure was on another. Celine chose truth and Régine didn't wait a moment before asking, "would you sleep with the prince?"

The girls in their fancy dresses with their hair pinned perfectly and their makeup done exactly how they wanted it, looked curious. No one said a word about how personal a question it was. I had expected they'd at least have some respect and dignity. Who was I kidding though? At the end of the day no matter what they wore they were still only girls, not women. Maybe I was a bit of a prude, or maybe I was just an optimist. I had wanted the selected to be different than the girls I had gone to school with, but they were all the same.

Celine gave a girly laugh, "of course."

Instead of the gasps that had met my answer of love, Celine received giggles. If she knew what was good for her she would've stopped there, but of course, she didn't.

"I mean it's not like it would be my first time."

While the giggling became even louder with Celine's confession, Régine and I locked eyes. We both knew how serious the consequences would be for Celine if this got out. The only difference being, Régine was out for blood, so I'd have to act first.

"Okay, my turn," Celine clearly loved the attention but she was eager to get more dirt on her competition. "Truth or dare, Claire?"

I watched as Claire bit her lip weighing her options. Finally she decided on "dare."

"I dare you to," Celine began slowly still deciding on what to say. It was clear the moment she decided because her face lit up brighter than any Christmas tree I'd ever seen. "Kiss Prince Kit."

All eyes turned to Claire as she got up without another word and walked out the door. Chaos ensued in a matter of moments.

"You realize you just gave her the upper hand, don't you?" Everyone quieted at Amelia's words. They wanted to hear what Celine would say in response.

Celine actually laughed. "You're all ridiculous," she could barely contain herself. "Do you actually think Prince Kit will be okay with her throwing herself at him?" We stayed silent forcing her to continue, rolling her eyes. "She'll try to kiss him and even if he lets her, he'll think she's too forward. A queen needs to know when to hold her tongue." She let out a giggle, "or at least when to keep it in her own mouth."

I couldn't take it any longer, the personalities of these girls made me sick. "I'm going to go look for Roseanna," I whispered to Savannah.

Before I was out the door I heard Régine mutter "wimp" but I didn't let it get to me. I couldn't let her get to me if I wanted any chance of staying in the Selection.

* * *

While I had said I was looking for Roseanna, she wasn't the one I really needed to talk to. Lucky for me, I found Sage Hart after only five minutes of wandering throughout the palace.

It was clear her head was somewhere else, no doubt thinking about Princess Ella. There must not have been any developments in the time since I'd been eavesdropping.

"Sage, I need a favour."

My words didn't startle her, she just nodded, as if she'd expected I'd come and ask something of her. "What is it?"

"One of the girls," I began shakily. While I didn't particularly like Celine, no one deserved the fate that would befall her if the wrong person found out. "Celine, she's not a virgin."

"I'll take care of it."

* * *

A/N

Hey guys, so I got back home earlier this week and honestly I've never been more inspired. I had the time of my life, but I'm also so excited to be home (although I'm super sick) because now I have so much more time to write.

Now enough about me, let's talk about the chapter. My first selected POV! While I did try to include some of the other girls, don't trust everything that was said about them. Not that I'm saying Sienna was telling lies, but all the selected look at each other critically because at the end of the day, they are competitors.

While things in Illéa have changed, it is still expected that the selected are all virgins. If Celine's past were to get out she would be shamed by the public and no doubt have to flee the country to find work. Yes she wouldn't face a physical punishment but her whole life would be destroyed. Although, side note, the only involvement of the monarchy in this is that they made the rule. They don't intend to bring shame to anyone because they don't expect to find anyone breaking the rule.

As always, I'd love to hear your opinions, thoughts, and questions on the chapter.

Shaelynn


	11. Destroy Her

The call came in only minutes after midnight. The day–Hannah's day–was over. Looking back on it I'm sure it was no coincidence, I'm sure it was Ella's doing.

Kit had left the family hours before to be with one of the selected. Sage went to the bathroom moments after and never came back. Jules escorted Sydney out before she could throw a punch at her mother. After a long family dinner Hannah and her parents said they'd better head out. Margo had an early flight the next day. Jules came back to fetch Ren, Agnes called it a night, and I spent the rest of the evening alone with my parents.

They sent the call to Mom and Dad's bedroom, where we'd been for the hour previous. While my mom went to pick it up my dad made some remark on how it was probably Ella. I can't remember his exact words. My memories leading up to the call are all a blur, but I do remember my mom's reaction.

Tears sprang up in her eyes and her hand shot to her mouth. My dad was there to catch her the moment before she fell. When the phone slipped from her fingers I knew the call was over.

The words tumbled out of her mouth moments later. "They're gone. Christopher and Peter."

I lost a piece of myself in that moment, and I never got it back.

* * *

Two days later I was in England. I wanted more than anything to be there on good terms. For the hug that I shared with Princess Léonie of France to be because of excitement in seeing each other, not because of grief.

I sat with my mother and Kit during the funeral, but my eyes never left Ella. She looked sickly and scared, but mainly, she was devastated. She and Christopher had been best friends, and she loved Peter more than anyone else in the world. They were a part of her and they always would be.

"Liv," I looked up at the sound of my name. The funeral was long over but I was still sat in the church. Agnes stood looking down at me, her mother standing by her side. "We're going back to Swendway."

I nodded, not really fully processing her words in the moment. I got up and hugged Agnes and then Queen Kristina. "It would have meant a lot to them that you came."

"Andrew's staying to watch over Jane," Kristina spoke in my ear. "I have little doubt her other brothers will do the same."

I wiped a tear from my eye as we pulled apart. "Christopher and Peter would have done the same for Ella."

"She's still got Oliver," Agnes said the words even though we all knew Ella didn't really have Oliver. They'd never gotten along, even as kids. In that moment though, in seeing how much Jane's brothers cared, we needed to believe that Ella and Oliver's relationship could change.

I was finally ready to leave the church so I tried to manage a smile. "I'll be seeing you," I shrugged not knowing the circumstances of our next reunion, "one day."

They no doubt deserved more than that from me, but I couldn't give it. I couldn't tell someone I loved them when it would make no difference. When my words could disappear leaving no mark on the world. There was no point.

Back at the English Palace royalty from across the globe were gathered to remember the lives of two boys who many of them had never met.

It took every ounce of strength I had not to slap Hadley Schreave when she approached me. Her hair looked like it had taken hours to style, and her jewelry was far too flashy for a funeral. She was clearly only in attendance in hopes of making it into the tabloids.

"Livee," she said with a small egotistical smile on her face. "I'm so happy to see you here, we haven't spoken in so long."

I took a deep breath, "well Hadley the circumstances aren't exactly happy."

"No," she placed a hand on my shoulder as if to comfort me. "I'd say they're rather tragic." Hadley looked pityingly across the room at Queen Jane. "It's quite a shame, that boy would have made an amazing king."

That's when it hit me. England was going to have another Queen.

Ella wasn't prepared for it; she _could_ be an amazing leader, but she wasn't raised to be. Christopher, like Kit, and like Agnes, was raised to be a monarch. Whereas Ella, like me, and like Agnes' brother Elias, was raised to be a public figure.

That's not to say we were stupid, or that we were not capable of what are older siblings could do. If need be, we could be their equals, but the need was never there. Instead we were needed to look lesser, to solidify the people's support in our older sibling.

I had come to accept that. Ella had come to accept it. We told ourselves that we had the better end of the deal. Now though, Ella would be thrust into a role that she had made herself despise.

"Anyway, I best continue making the rounds. Do say hi to your father for me."

I paid Hadley's last comment no heed as I made my way deeper into the crowd of people; nearly all of them regal in status.

I saw Princess Louise of France with Ren. Not as unlikely a pairing as you would assume. Hannah was sticking close by her father's side. Her face was wet with tears. Kit and Jules were having a polite conversation with Illéa's ambassador to England. Neither took notice of me.

Finally I saw him. Oliver. He looked better than Ella; good enough to be overlooked. I knew better.

Ella's middle brother was guarded. He was exuberant but serious. He had a special talent for clashing with his sister. I knew him to care more than most, even if he would never admit it.

When I reached Oliver I wrapped my arms around him and he pulled me tight to his chest. A few tears seeped out of my eyes as I lost the fight against my emotions.

"Will the pain ever stop?" His words were soft and I could tell he'd been holding them in all day.

I knew why he chose to ask me, but I didn't have the answer that he wanted; the answer that he deserved.

Oliver and I had an unspoken code of honesty so with tears streaming down my face, I shook my head. "It will always be there, but I know you," I looked into his wide eyes, filled with sorrow. "You're strong enough to live with it."

"I'm scared," Oliver locked eyes with his sister, halfway across the crowded room, "that Ella will let it destroy her."

* * *

A/N

Hey guys. I've been having a really rough September. There's a lot going on in my life, and I just haven't been able to devote time to this story. Although I was able to take an evening to finish this chapter, I sadly do not think I'll have the time to write another chapter anytime soon. I'm really sorry to all of you, I wish I could give you new chapters every day.

This chapter was definitely rushed, but I have to admit that the scene between Oliver and Liv was probably my favourite so far. Although Liv talks about him very positively, it is important to note that he is equally to blame for his relationship with Ella. A big part of it is resentment on both parts. Also I just want to say that I love Ren and Louise, I'm so excited for you to one day learn more about them.

My plan for the next chapter is to take a look at what's happening back in Illéa while everyone was at the funeral. Along with the selected, Callum, Sage, and Jamie Gibbs (who you haven't met yet) are at the castle.

Have a great day

Shaelynn


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